In this series we’ll take a fresh look at resources and how they are used. We’ll go beyond natural resources like air and water to look at how efficiency in raw materials can boost the bottom line and help the environment. We’ll also examine the circular economy and design for reuse — with an eye toward honoring those resources we do have.

While changes at home can’t solve the many environmental crises we face today, they can sure help. Through this series, we’ll explore how initiatives like curbside compost pick-up, rebates on compost bins, and efficient appliances can help families reduce their impact without breaking the bank.

Despite decades -- centuries even -- of global efforts, slavery can still be found not just on the high seas, but around the world and throughout various supply chains. Through this series on forced labor, sponsored by C&A Foundation, we’ll explore many different types of bonded and forced labor and highlight industries where this practice is alive and well today.

In this series we examine how companies should respond to national controversy like police violence and the BLM movement to best support employees and how can companies work to improve equality by increasing diversity in their ranks directly.

Compost is often considered a panacea for the United States’ tremendous food waste problem. Indeed, composting is a much better option than putting spoiled food in a garbage can destined for a landfill.

In the latest episode of The Green Room, BBMG’s Mitch Baranowski chats with Summer Rayne Oakes: author, eco-model, environmental activist and founder and CEO of Source4Style. In the exclusive interview—part of BBMG’s series of sit-downs with leaders of the green economy—Oakes discusses how her company encourages sustainable fashion.

Source4Style is a business-to-business online marketplace that helps fashion designers discover and source sustainable materials. Oakes, who was named one of CNBC’s “Top 10 Green Entrepreneurs of 2010,” says the company frees designers from the time constraints of sourcing, while providing access to and information about environmentally friendly materials.

“We looked squarely at the intersection of sustainability and design—and what that means,” Oakes says. “For us, it was about opening up the transparency of supply chains.”

Oakes says the site encourages transparency by giving visibility preference to suppliers who answer the most questions about how their materials are made. Source4Style also provides year-round exposure for environmentally friendly suppliers who traditionally spend nearly half their marketing budget on twice-yearly trade shows.

She also discusses the future of eco-friendly fashion, explaining that Source4Style is careful not to limit the definition of sustainability: “It’s no longer just about organic cotton…We don’t want to corner ourselves in a way where sustainability means one thing.”

While one designer may be interested in locally sourced materials, Oakes says, another may be seeking materials that preserve artisan craft and culture. Source4Style gives designers the freedom to choose the types materials that have the most meaning to them.

Filmed at BBMG’s studio in DUMBO, Brooklyn, and hosted in partnership with Triple Pundit, new episodes of The Green Room debut every two weeks. Next up: Ron J. Williams, co-founder of SnapGoods, a new platform for “owning less, doing more.”

2 responses

I think the best part of this story is how she’s recognized a need that was there that had been previously ignored – ie, fashion designers were already thinking about better ethical sourcing decisions but had no where to go to look.